Hats off to HSBC

[glojo]

Just had a telephone call from HSBC asking if my wife spent £1300 today at Dell.

NO we had not and the strange thing is she VERY rarely uses this card. In fact it has only been used once in the last few months.

regards
John

 

[C240Sport97]

they have very sophisticated detection software these days.

all banks compare each purchase against previous history to identify dodgy ones

 

[jaymanek]

yes they love to help customers, just not the merchants..

 

[C240Sport97]

because the Consumer Credit Act protects consumers ...

yes they love to help customers, just not the merchants..

 

[Alfie]

Just had a telephone call from HSBC asking if my wife spent £1300 today at Dell.

NO we had not and the strange thing is she VERY rarely uses this card. In fact it has only been used once in the last few months.

regards
John

Then you probably know where they got the details from then

I had a call from Barclays 2 hours before I went to France to say 'Had I just withdrawn cash from an ATM in Kuala Lumpar?'. Obviously not. So they stopped the card and got the cash back into my account. Problem was I had to go to France with no access to my main account

It seems that all banks now are tracking peoples spending patterns. This could be good and bad. I just hope they never sell that information to marketing companies!

 

[verytalldave]

Just had a telephone call from HSBC asking if my wife spent £1300 today at Dell.

NO we had not and the strange thing is she VERY rarely uses this card. In fact it has only been used once in the last few months.

regards
John

I am with HSBC and had a similar call about a month ago. Although mine was about buying some software. They cancelled my card and they sent me a replacement a few days later.
I too, was mighty impressed at how on the ball they are.

 

[janner]

My bank once cancelled my card because someone tried to use it abroad and they couldn't contact me by phone. The reason I didn't answer my phone was because I was abroad trying to use my card

 

[flango]

HSBC group are excellent at Fraud prevention / detection couple of years ago I was leaving Ikea in Leeds in between Christmas & New Year period. Got a call from First Direct (part of HSBC) asking to take me through security so they could speak to me about my account. They had seen I had just paid for furniture in Leeds yet 2 minutes after that someone had tried to use the same card in Liverpool, some 75 miles away which the system rejected. They said my card must have been cloned, and as a result cancelled they all the cards I had with them and issued new, fantastic service but not great having no cards between Christmas and the New Year, glad I had another account with Nat West and glad they caught yours in time too John.

 

[glojo]

My bank once cancelled my card because someone tried to use it abroad and they couldn't contact me by phone. The reason I didn't answer my phone was because I was abroad trying to use my card

And this is Cap'n Jasper the pirate speaking, I'm surprised they allow you to have a credit card. Are you still spending those pieces of eight and dubloons?

Take care and see you soon
Yours sincerely
John

Edit
Strangely enough the first thing I thought of was just how long it had taken a bank to inform Jay of his issue It certainly doesn't seem fair but I'm mightily relieved. All I want to know now is how these details were obtained.

 

[st13phil]

As others have already noted, the spending pattern analysis that banks and crredit card providers now use is pretty sophisticated.

I have an Egg Visa card that I use infrequently and on each occasion I've made a large purchase with it I have been called by an automated service(!) which alerts me that a transaction of £x has been made in "y" Town and invites me to confirm that the transaction was valid (or otherwise). Clever stuff, if a bit impersonal.

 

[m_chalubowicz]

And this is Cap'n Jasper the pirate speaking, I'm surprised they allow you to have a credit card. Are you still spending those pieces of eight and dubloons?

Take care and see you soon
Yours sincerely
John

Edit
Strangely enough the first thing I thought of was just how long it had taken a bank to inform Jay of his issue It certainly doesn't seem fair but I'm mightily relieved. All I want to know now is how these details were obtained.

Friend of mine had his card scanned / cloned at cashpoint in Tesco express petrol station in Birmingham / Selly Oak. A few days later we've seen an article in Metro(?) about cards fraud and this cash point was an example of MANY frauds....

 

[st13phil]

All I want to know now is how these details were obtained.

John, start off with your first post in this thread:

In fact it has only been used once in the last few months.

 

[Dieselman]

My bank once cancelled my card because someone tried to use it abroad and they couldn't contact me by phone. The reason I didn't answer my phone was because I was abroad trying to use my card

LOL...Funny...NOT.!

I've been there..Though not on your card..

 

[m_chalubowicz]

As others have already noted, the spending pattern analysis that banks and crredit card providers now use is pretty sophisticated.

I have an Egg Visa card that I use infrequently and on each occasion I've made a large purchase with it I have been called by an automated service(!) which alerts me that a transaction of £x has been made in "y" Town and invites me to confirm that the transaction was valid (or otherwise). Clever stuff, if a bit impersonal.

Have the same with Lloydstsb.
Me and my wife both have joint account and she was in Poland with family once when I had an automated call from the bank.
There were like 3 transactions on approx £30 each an I assumed they are correct. But was tempted to refuse these transactions... free shopping, wife stuck with no further spending... no headaches...

just a temptation

 

[st13phil]

But was tempted to refuse these transactions... free shopping, wife stuck with no further spending... no headaches...

just a temptation

A bit like the old gag: "My wife's credit card was stolen last month. I haven't reported it though, because the thief spends less on it than my wife did". Boom-boom

 

[Dragon]

Just had a telephone call from HSBC asking if my wife spent £1300 today at Dell.

NO we had not and the strange thing is she VERY rarely uses this card. In fact it has only been used once in the last few months.

regards
John

Beware you still have to pay for it though, if it authorised, then you have to claim it back filling form. Inconvenient though, that life.

 

[oldcro]

If you do intend to use your card in a different way to normal i.e. on a trip abroad or much higher price purchase than normal then tell them beforehand.

 

[A210AMG]

Hello


Barclaycard do the same, rang me when I bought a few privates from DVLA to check I was buying them. We also had the fraud team ring us in USA and then France on Holidays...

We now ring them to 'open' the cards up.

Lots of addition features with the account we have also, ok we pay for it £14 a month but well worth it.

 

[st13phil]

If you do intend to use your card in a different way to normal i.e. on a trip abroad or much higher price purchase than normal then tell them beforehand.

Good advice, I do exactly that myself. Except on the occasions I forget, which is when I get the automated phone call...

 

[glojo]

If you do intend to use your card in a different way to normal i.e. on a trip abroad or much higher price purchase than normal then tell them beforehand.

And if you don't use your card in a different way to normal or make a trip abroad then be grateful the banks take this type of action.

By buying something from Dell Computers I would like to think there might be a trail, but I want to know who got these details and how. This card is very rarely used and there has just been one purchase in two months.

Regards
John